Floating sadiron mechanism



June 5, 1951 E. E. FOSTER FLOATING SADIRON MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Nov. 15, 1950 Edwin E. 561e,-

June 5, 1951 E. E. FOSTER FLOATING SADIRON MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed NOV. 15, 1950 June 5, 1951 E. E. FOSTER FLOATING SADIRON MECHANISM5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 15, 1950 '5. Foster- Edwin W June 5, 1951Filed NQV. 15, 1950 E. E. FOSTER FLOATING SADIRON MECHANISM 5Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR EDWIN E FOSTER Patented June 5, 19 51 2,555,639M FLOATING sADIRoN MECHANISM Edwin E. Foster, Austin, Tex., assignor toMajik- Ironers, Inc., Austin, Tom, a corporation of Texas ApplicationNovember 15, 1950, Serial No. 195,860

13 Claims.

This invention relates to a mechanical lifting and holding device forsupporting an ordinary hand iron, and is used in combination with, or

attached to, an articulated arm secured to an ironing board as, forinstance, shown in application, Serial No. 669,318, filed May 13, 1946.

This application is a continuation in part of my prior applications,Serial No. 727,124, filed February 7, 1947, now abandoned, and SerialNo. "25,137, filed May 5, 1948.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device which can beattached to a hand iron, and which functions to lift and hold an iron onan arm. The wrist of the arm as shown in said application, Serial No.669,318, travels in a plane parallel to the ironing board and has limitstops which prevent it from moving oii the board beyond a safe distance,normally about six inches. Another object resides in the provision of anadjustable member on a counterweighting spring so that it can be adaptedto different weights of irons by merely turning an adjustment screw.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision ofmeans for the counterweighting force to be neutralized or partiallyneutralized during the time the iron is on the material to be ironed.- V

1 Further objects willbe apparent from the following description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1is a rear end elevation, partly in section of the adapter andcounterweight mechanism, showing the iron in the extreme liftingposition.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the iron on the ironingboard.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the iron in. itslifted position and the counterweighting mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. l with the iron approximately one-halfinch above the ironing board.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a modification of my invention inwhich the jointed arm and housing are reversed from the arrangementshown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. '7 illustrates a combinationstructure in which the iron is securedto arm sections for supporting the iron above the board when the iron isreleased and slightly lifted from the work.

The adapter bracket I, which is made of any suitable metal and ottubular or solid stock, is clamped to the rear endof the iron 2 by meansoia flexible steel band '3, and the latter is preferably secured: at oneend 4 in a permanent manher, with the other end provided with a wing put5 to tightly hold the iron 2 on the adapter, as

' .best shown in Fig. 3. The bracket 1 is provided with a square end 6,which is preferably tapered as shown in Fig. 3, and this end portion isreceived in a corresponding tapered square hole 1, in a supportinghousing or casing 8, and is secured in place by a nut 9.

The housing 8 is provided with a pair of spaced ball bearings l0 and H,in and through which a pinor shaft 12 operates to form a frictionlesspivot between the housing 8 and an arm 13.

The arm I3 is provided with a second shaft or centrally by means ofsleeves 16, Fig.- 3. A. block or ring I! is provided around the bearing.l5, and has a perforation with a knife edge pivot point or edge I8. Atension spring 19 is secured at one hook end 20 on the knife edge 18,and the other hook end 2| engages a link 22 secured by means of anadjustable screw 23 in theremote portion of the housing or casing 8.This screw 23 adjusts the tension of the spring 49.

The upper end of the arm 13 is provided with a ball member '25 whichfits into the wrist end of a supporting arm asshown in Fig.- 7. A

Fig. 7 illustrates a combination structure in which the iron v2 issecured to the arm sections 3.3 and 34, with the latter secured on theironing board 35 by means of the post 36 secured to a .base 31.

The ball .25 is provided with a neck portion 26. and a cylindrical lowerportion 21 through which a pin 28 is mounted to form a pivotalconnection between the portion 21 and the arm [3.

The bearing block I!- isprovided with a finger or link 29 whichcooperates with or against the pin I2 and permits the spring [9' topivot on the knife edge [8 in the bearing block rather than cross over adead center position which would result if the finger 29 were notprovided. By permitting the finger to contact the pin 12, adefinitelev'ei' arm is maintained through the rest of the stroke.

In Fig. 6; the housing for the spring I?! is shown as the substantiallyhorizontal member of the two pivoted members 8 and 13 while the rigidmember I3 is attached to the iron.

The operation and functions of the device are obvious from the drawingsand the specification. The: adapter bracket I of the right size receivesthe iron 2, and the iron isthus ready for" 1186.

Figs. 1 and 6 show the iron being sup orted, and

the iron. The operator actually lifts or partially lifts the weight ofthe iron about one-fourth of an inch from the ironing board 32, Fig. atwhich position the counterweighting mechanism gradually becomes moreefiective and takes hold of the weight of the iron and lifts it theremainder of the one and one-half inch stroke, Figs. 1 and 6.

The operator may tilt the iron on its point slightly to lift the centerpart of the iron this short distance, if preferred, as the mechanicalleverage would need only one-half of the efiort. 7

It has been found desirable to keep a set amount of counterweightingforce at all times in order to make the iron easier to start on itsupward stroke. It would be possible to cut out all of thecounterweighting force and still keep the force from crossing center bythis same means. That is, the finger 29 could be adjusted to maintain adead center position by allowing the top hook of the spring to rollabout the knife ed e l8. However, it is not the weight but the heat andthe, moving of the iron that does the work, and

the only reason for having even a four or five pound iron is to haveenough metal to maintain a heat reservoir. With a four pound iron, thisdevice seems to operate best with the mechanism counterweighting one andone-half pounds, leaving an efiective ironing weight of two and onehalfpounds. Therefore, the operator must lift only the two and one-halfpounds, and that through a very short distance. This quarter of an inchof space through which the iron is lifted will vary some, depending onthe thickness of the material being ironed. On material thicker thanone-fourth of an inch, the iron would lift all the way from the materialupward. Means could be provided for adjusting the height of the shoulderpivot point of the arm to make it possible for the operator to selectdifferent conditions to suit.

Figs. 1, 2 and 5 illustrate the positions of the parts in the variouspositions of the iron as the latter is moved up or down on the ironingboard.

In the position of Figs. 1 and 6, the spring l9 holds the iron in thesuspended position.

Although I have shown and described my invention with respect to certaindetails of construction, it is to be understood that I do not wish to beunduly limited thereto, certain modifications being possible withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A counterweighting device for an iron.

mounted on a support movable in a plane above and parallel with anironing board, comprising a housing member and an arm member pivotedtogether above the iron, one member extending substantially horizontallyhaving its end away.

'from the pivot attached to the support and the other member extendingsubstantially vertically and having its lower end secured to the iron, atension spring in the housing member having one end mounted on thehousing member at a position spaced from the pivot, and an anchor forthe other end of the spring mounted on the arm member, said anchor beingspaced closer to said pivot than to the end of said arm member away fromsaid pivot, the distance between said one' 1 end of the spring and theanchor being greater the iron toward the ironing board thecounterbalancing effect of the spring is decreased.

2. A counterweighting device for an iron mounted on a supporting armsecured to an ironing board, comprising a housing, an adapter bracketsecured to the iron and to the lower end of the housing, an armpivotally secured to the upper end of the housing and to the supportingarm of the ironing board and having a'bearing member secured to the armand spaced from the pivot for the arm and the housing a slight distancerelative to the vertical plane of the arm and housing pivot axis, and atension spring secured at one end to the bearing and at the other end tothe bottom of the housing to counterweight a portion of the weight ofthe iron.

3. A counterweighting device for an iron mounted on a supporting armsecured to an ironing board, comprising a housing, an adapter bracketsecured to the iron and to the lower end of the housing, an armpivotally secured to the upper end of the housing and to the supportingarm of the ironing board and having a bearing member secured to the armand spaced from the pivot for the arm and the housing a slight distancerelative to the vertical plane of the arm and housing pivot axis and atension spring secured at one end to the bearing and at the other end tothe bottom of the housing to counterweight a portion of the weight ofthe iron, said bearing having a finger extending from and connected tothe bearing to which the upper end of the spring is connected.

4. A counterweighting device for an iron mounted on a supporting armsecured to an ironing board, comprising a housing, an adapter bracketsecured to the iron and to the lower end of the housing, an armpivotally secured to the upper end of the housing and to the supportingarm of the ironing board, and having a bearing member secured to the armand spaced from the pivot for the arm and the housing a slight distancerelative to the vertical plane of the arm and housing pivot axis, atensionspring secured to one end to the bearing and at the other end tothe bottom of the housing to counterweight a portion of the weight ofthe iron, and a member connecting the lower end of the spring to thelower end of the housing and which is adjustable to adjust the tensionin the spring.

5. A counterweighting device for an iron mounted on a supporting armsecured to an ironing board, comprising a housing, an adapter bracketsecured to the iron and to the lower end of the housing, an armpivotally secured to the upper end of the housing and to the supportingarm of the ironing board and having a bearing member secured to the armand spaced from the pivot for the arm and the housing a slight distancerelative to the vertical plane of the arm and housing pivot axis, ashort link secured to the bearing member, and a tension spring securedat one end to the link and the other end to the bottom of the housing tocounterweight the weight of the iron.

6. A counterweighting device for an iron mounted on a supporting armsecured to an ironing board, comprising a housing, an adapter bracketsecured to the iron and to the lower end of the housing, an armpivotally secured to the upper end of the housing by means of a pin andto the supporting arm of the ironing board and having a bearing membersecured to the arm and spaced from the pin for the arm and the housing aslight distance relative to the vertical plane of the pin axis, and atension spring secured at one end to the bearing and at the other end tothe bottom of the housing to counterweight the weight of the iron, saidbearing having a finger extending from and connected to the bearing towhich the upper end of the spring is connected and being adapted in thelowered position of the iron to contact the pin to thereby maintain adefinite lever arm on the bracket.

7. A counterweighting device for an iron mounted on a supporting armsecured to an ironing board, comprising a housing, an adapter bracketsecured to the iron and to the lower end of the housing, an armpivotally secured to the upper end of the housing by means of a pin andto the supporting arm of the ironing board, and having a bearing membersecured to the arm and spaced from the pin for the arm and the housing aslight distance relative to the vertical plane of the pin axis, a linksecured at one end to the bearing member, a tension spring secured atone end to the link and at the other end to the bottom of the housing tocounterweight a portion of the weight of the iron, and a memberconnecting the lower end of the spring to the lower end of the housingand which is adjustable to adjust the tension in the spring, said linkbeing so mounted as to abut against the pin to prevent the spring fromacting over center relative to the pivotal connection of the arm andhousing.

8. A supporting device for an iron suspended from a jointed armcomprising a rigid arm se cured to a handle post of the iron, a shortarm in the form of a casing pivotally secured at one end to the upperend of the rigid arm and the other end to the jointed arm, and a tensionspring lying within the casing and secured at one end to the casing at apoint remote from its connection to the rigid arm and the other end tothe rigid arm adjacent to its pivotal connection to the casing andfarther from said point than the pivotal connection between the arm andcasing to act as a counterbalance when the iron is suspended above aboard.

9. A supporting device for an iron suspended from a jointed armcomprising a rigid arm secured to a hande post of the iron, a short armin the form of a casing pivotally secured at one end to the upper end ofthe rigid arm and the other end to the jointed arm, a link pivotallymounted on the rigid arm at a point near the pivotal connection of thecasing on the rigid arm, and a tension spring secured at one end to thecasing at a point remote from its connection to the rigid arm and theother end to the link to act as a counterbalance when the iron issuspended from a board, the distance between the link and said pointbeing greater than the distance between the pivotal connection betweenthe arm and casing and said point.

10. A supporting device for an iron suspended from a jointed armcomprising a rigid arm secured to a handle post of the iron, a short armin the form of a casing pivotally secured at one end to the upper end ofthe rigid arm and the other end to the jointed arm, a link pivotallymounted on the rigid arm at a point near the pivotal connection of thecasing on the rigid arm, and a tension spring secured at one end to thecasing at a point remote from its connection to the rigid arm and theother end to the link to act as a counterbalance when the iron issuspended from a board, said casing enveloping the spring and link andthe connection to the jointed arm being a swivel connection the distancebetween said point and the pivotal axis of the link being greater thanthe distance between said point and the pivotal connection between thecasing and rigid arm.

11, A. counterweighting device for an iron mounted on a supporting armsecured. to an ironing board, comprising a vertical housing attached atits lower end to an iron, an arm pivotally secured at one end to theupper end of the housing and at the other end to the supporting arm ofthe ironing board and having a bearing member secured to the arm andspaced above at one side of the pivot for the arm and the housing aslight distance relative to the vertical plane of the arm and housingpivot axis toward other end, a short link secured to the bearmember, anda tension spring secured at one end to the link and the other end to thebottom of the housing to counterweight the weight of the iron.

12. A counterweighting device for an iron mounted on a supporting armsecured to an ironboard, comprising a substantially vertical armattached at its lower end to an iron, a substantially horizontal housingpivotally secured at one end to the upper end of the vertical arm and atthe other end to the supporting arm of the ironing board, the verticalarm having a bearing member secured to it and spaced from the pivot forthe arm and the housing a slight distance below the horizontal plane ofthe arm and housing pivot axis and at the side of the pivotal axisremote from said one end of the housing, a short link secured to thebearing member, and a tension spring secured at one end to the link andat the other end to the remote part of the housing to counterweight theweight of the iron.

13. A counterweighting device for an iron mounted on a support movablein a plane above and parallel with an ironing board, comprising ahousing member and an arm member pivoted together above the iron, onemember extending substantially horizontally having its end away from thepivot attached to the support and the other member extendingsubstantially vertically and having its lower end secured to the iron, a

spring in the housing member having one end mounted on the housingmember at a point spaced from the pivot, and an anchor for the other endof the spring on the arm member, the spring being stressed in suchmanner as to bias the members toward closed position about the pivot todecrease the angle between them, said anchor being at a point closer tosaid pivot than to the end of the arm member away from the pivot, theline between said points passing to one side of the pivot and being sorelated to the pivot that when the angle between the members isincreased by lowering the iron toward the ironing board. said line movescloser to the pivot whereby the counterbalancing effect of the spring isdecreased.

EDWIN E. FOSTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 229,758 Rubio July 6, 1880433,679 Gindorfi Aug. 5, 1890 501,327 Choen July 11, 1893 1,340,522Capman May 18, 1920 2,149,251 Campana Mar. 7, 1939

